Kelly Ripa Gushes Over ‘Wise’ Mom Esther on Her Birthday: ‘I’d Like to Acknowledge Your Wisdom’

A special occasion. Kelly Ripa celebrated her mother Esther Ripa‘s 79th birthday by gushing about how “wise” she is on Instagram.

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“Happy Birthday, Mom! Even though you are no longer acknowledging your age, I’d like to acknowledge your wisdom,” she captioned a throwback Instagram picture of Esther having dinner with her family. “You are very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very wise. I love you and this photo of you with gram and pop pop.”

Kelly loves her mother so much that she’s been having a hard time being away from her during the coronavirus pandemic. When Esther couldn’t make it to the Caribbean, where her daughter ended up quarantining with her family, Kelly said she missed giving Esther and her father, Joseph Ripa, a hug.

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“I haven’t gotten to hug my parents. I want to hug my parents. I miss hugging my parents,” the TV personality told cohost, Ryan Seacrest during an April episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan. It also didn’t help that Kelly was “not speaking” to two of her kids at the time and learned son Michael wasn’t going to have a ceremony for his college graduation.

“Again, these are small problems considering that so many people are losing their loved ones and [are] very, very sick. But it just, it is what it is, you know what I mean?” she said. “Michael, by the way, is not bothered at all.”

Since she couldn’t be with her mom, Kelly made sure she gave Esther and husband Mark Consuelos‘ mother, Camilla, a sweet shout-out on Mother’s Day. The All My Children alum shared a few throwback photos of Esther and Camilla and wrote, “Happy Mother’s Day to my favorite mom and my favorite mother-in-law. I love you two so much. These photos are WOW!”

Kelly even credits Esther for her amazing sense of style. The former actress revealed Esther is the reason why she wears so many caftans. “Here’s the original kaftan/caftan wearer,” she said alongside an Instagram photo of her mom looking very chic in 1975.

No wonder Kelly says Esther is a “very wise” woman. She taught her daughter everything she knows!